By Sunday afternoon, 7,185 Utahns - including Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson - had signed up through the http://www.votepair.org Web site to swap their votes in order to get Sen. John Kerry elected. Of that total, 1,456 have been paired with someone in a swing state; the rest are still waiting to be paired up.

By comparison, Idaho has 187 people signed up and only one of them paired. Wyoming has 76 signed up and only 19 paired.

Anderson, who had been accused of "selling his vote" and told "if he doesn't like Utah, he should move elsewhere," was paired with a Wisconsin voter who assured the mayor he would vote for Kerry if Rocky would vote for Nader.

Intolerance is bliss: Since the Democrats opened their headquarters on Logan's Main Street, volunteers have been verbally and physically abused by motorists passing by, including members of the Logan High School football team.

During the school's recent homecoming parade, some of the players, yelling "Kerry Sucks," pelted candy at a man exiting Democratic headquarters with a Kerry campaign sign. The players were reportedly verbally disciplined by a coach who was told of the abuse, which, according to volunteer Angie Baker, happens on a regular basis.

Baker, who is running for the Cache County Council, said she was working at headquarters with her husband and young children when a man drove by and called them "f---ing communists."

Baker, who works for the Community Abuse Prevention Services Agency, says she fears going to the Democratic headquarters alone.

The alter egos: The normally staid insurance executives at Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah “let their hair down” recently to honor a pledge made to their employees: If goals were reached for the annual Employee Giving Campaign, top executives would perform as Van Halen, the classic rock band.

Employees pledged more than $65,600 to the United Way and the Caring Foundation for Children - a new record. So president Scott Ideson - along with fellow executives Don Smith, Kevin Bischoff and Mark Stimpson - donned shaggy wigs and rock star regalia. With the real Van Halen on video screens behind them, they performed “Jump” to a conference room packed with cheering employees. They dubbed themselves “Van Wailin'” performing on the “Creak, Rattle and Roll Tour.”

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Paul Rolly and JoAnn Jacobsen-Wells welcome e-mail at rolly_wells@sltrib.com.